2013/11/01

2013 November 1

2013 November 1 And so the balmy days of Spring have finally arrived.

Just a brief update. Spent a lot of time in the shed, mostly playing with sound and upgrading locomotives and rolling stock.
My latest acquisition was a repainted BG SOP set from Nathan Peters. Thank you Nathan :D

Since I last posted we have started to rebuild the boards and lay some track. It really is nice to work with a flat deck :) Allan Jeeves again was extremely helpful, keeping me company and whose good advice and labours are much appreciated. However the tyranny of distance and Oil Company profiteering are having their effect. It costs Allan over $25 a trip to come and help, and it all adds up, doesn't it :(

So here is the first 2400 mm section added to the Helix. This time I am not in such a hurry to get something running, and so it was decided to make it a bit easy on the poor old back. All the track is laid in place, including the grain Silo. All droppers are placed and each point is set up for a motor. (I just placed another order for 30 motors from my favourite E-Bay supplier)

Just before moving on, I set this up to prove it would work. The rear of the train has been left on the Main, and the engine has crossed the SG and entered the Silo Yard where it uses the now vacant empty arrival sidings to access the loaded siding. It hooks on and places the loads out on the MAIN, before returning for the second sidings loads. Once all out on the Main it proceeds on to the next Station and eventually the Docks (off the layout)

So all I have to do now is connect up all the wires and fit overload bulbs, then connect to the DCC Bus. I have two double slips, one ordinary point in the Silo, as well the points off the MAIN into the Silo to power as well

Well I am wasting time on this bloody thing again, and the soldering iron is still hot...

1 comment:

Hi old mate, gee those photos show I would not recognise a good percentage of your layout. Looks like as soon as I can- Road trip and a good meal at Yack :) It may be around Christmas- early January before this occurs, as I am still in that move house stage and as you know, a certain secret project.

Beginnings (Blog starts here)

About my Railway

The Australian National Railways was established by the Whitlam Federal Government following a commitment made in the 1972 election to invite the states to hand over their railway systems to the federal government. In July 1975 Australian National Railways was formed taking over the operations of the federal government owned Commonwealth Railways.

The state governments of South Australia and Tasmania whose railway systems were deeply in debt, accepted. During the next two years discussions between these two states and the federal government resulted in a number of staffing and operating agreements being made that resulted in all South Australian Railways services (except for the Adelaide metropolitan passenger network) and all Tasmanian Government Railways services transferring to Australian National Railway in March 1978, the latter being re-branded AN Tasrail.

At first Victoria declined to hand over its Railways, however a change of Government after Bolte retired meant Victoria could be absorbed into AN as well. Despite doing everything they could to tarnish ALP leader Clyde Holding, The ALP were able to defeat Hamer who was seen to be just another Bolte, doing more of the same into the future.

Clyde Holding handed over Victorian Railways to the Commonwealth where it prospered as a division of AN retaining its VR colours until later when AN decided to re-brand it as V/Line.

My Railway thus reflects what could have been ;)And of course National Rail (Pacific National) has no place in my little scenario. Australian National was never privatised and has continually taken East Coast loads off the Highways. As well many branch lines were upgraded and Whitlam's policy of decentralisation actually moved employment to towns with a ready pool of workers, which of course took the pressure of Melbourne which was starting to expand as bush kids moved away from the Country in search of education and employment ( just as Gough Whitlam envisaged it would do)Rod Young

N452 (Background photo)

At Wodonga after being towed into loco following my Kelly Street Accident. A semi load of dog food ran the level crossing derailing the 1220 Down Pass

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All photos are copyrighted to their respective owners.All can be clicked on to see bigger images :)